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Toshiba, SanDisk Join 3-D Chip Race

Move Looks to Capitalize on Smartphone Growth

By

Kana Inagaki

May 14, 2014 12:02 a.m. ET

TOKYO—Chasing Samsung Electronics Co.'s lead, Japanese rival Toshiba Corp. is shifting to higher-storage 3-D chip technology and ramping up investment to capitalize on growth in sales of smartphones and wearable devices.

On Wednesday, Toshiba and its U.S. partner SanDisk Corp. said they would convert an existing facility at its jointly operated chip plant in central Japan to produce 3-D NAND flash memory from as early as 2016. Within...